


Goodbye, My Lover

by Bowm8935



Series: The Life and Trials of the Former Doctor Anders [1]
Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: Almost Sex, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Drunk Driving, M/M, Swearing, car crash, slight homophobia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-18
Updated: 2016-10-18
Packaged: 2018-08-23 03:46:46
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8312824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bowm8935/pseuds/Bowm8935
Summary: Anders was happy. He was a successful doctor in love with a professor, and was planning on taking the next step in their relationship.But sometimes, life has other plans.





	

It started out just like any other day.

The rain was falling in torrents, gusts of wind blowing it at a severe angle to the west. Lightening flashed jaggedly out of the dark grey clouds, thunder reverberating through the air in a disharmonic pattern. Already the rain was gathering in puddles in places where the sidewalks dipped, in potholes or broken cracks of the pavement, flowing quickly along the edges of the road to run down into the gutters. There was a sudden, brighter burst of lightening followed by such a loud peal of thunder that it shook the entire house that sat on the corner of Fifth and Broadway, the pictures on the wall shuddering from the shock of the sound.

Perhaps, in retrospect, that should have been his warning to stay home.

Anders jerked awake at the noise, catching the tail end of the rumble as it died away, leaving behind the sound of the rain pounding on the roof. He let out a loud yawn, rolling over and shoving tangled blonde hair out of his eyes to squint at the blinking clock next to bed. Fantastic, the power must have flickered off at some point. Sighing heavily, he sat up on the edge of the bed, digging the palms of his hands into his eyes while letting out another long yawn. There was a stir of movement behind him followed by a hand gently caressing his back. “What is it, sweetheart?” came the sleepy voice of Karl, the hand dipping to rest the barest tips of fingers on his thigh.

Anders turned slightly, reaching down to pick up the tanned hand and bringing it to his lips, brushing a kiss over the knuckles of the man he loved. “The thunder woke me and it looks like the power went out. I’m just gonna go to the bathroom and then set the clock. Go back to sleep, love,” he responded, smiling down at the crinkled blue-grey eyes that were sleepily watching him and leaning over to run a hand through the brown hair flecked with grey. Releasing Karl’s hand, Anders turned back around and stood up, allowing himself a moment to stretch, palms raised toward the ceiling as he elongated his spine, leaning gently to each side before dropping his arms and making his way into the bathroom.

Once he had finished emptying his bladder, he stepped up to the sink to wash his hands, peering at his reflection even as he lathered soap under the water. His amber eyes were slightly bloodshot, and there were the beginnings of dark circles forming underneath. Turning off the faucet, he dried his hands on the fluffy maroon towel that hung next to the sink, raising a finger to poke at the darkened skin. The extra shifts he had been picking up at the hospital were starting to show, despite his every attempt to conceal his exhaustion.

He knew Karl would tell him to stop working so much, but Anders needed to for a while longer yet. The extra shifts were a bit hard to squeeze in between his normal work hours and his volunteer time spent at the free clinic, but he needed the money. He thought of the small black box he had stashed inside one of his socks holding a band of white gold with a solitary diamond embedded in it, renewing his determination.

Splashing some water on his face, he quickly toweled off and headed back into their room. Karl was sitting up now, a look of playful innocence on his face as he regarded Anders. Anders slowed, smirking; he knew that look. “We’re not going back to sleep, are we?” he asked, making his way around the bed to stand in front of Karl. Deft fingers shot out and untied the laces of his sleep pants, hooking into the waistband to tug them down over pale hips dusted in freckles.

“Mmm, I think this is better than sleeping, don’t you?” Karl’s voice had dropped, becoming husky, and he teasingly drew a finger along Anders’ hardening length. The sensation sent shivers coursing throughout Anders’ body, causing his breath to hitch in his throat.

“Yes, I do,” Anders replied before pushing Karl back on the bed and crawling on top of him.

 

* * *

 

 

“Don’t people know how to drive in the rain?” Anders grumbled, squinting through the water that was currently pelting his windshield. The wipers were lazily dragging back and forth across the glass, clearing it off for a brief second before more rain streamed across it in small rivers, temporarily obscuring his vision before the wipers brushed it away again.

Cars were piling up in front of him, moving at the rate of a slug trying to wade through molasses, and he feared they would be late. Work had gone by fairly quickly, Anders making his rounds through the pediatric ward in the morning before taking appointments all afternoon. Most of the kids currently admitted to the hospital under his care were doing much better, with the exception of one who was facing end-stage leukemia. He always made sure to bring her a new book to read weekly, as she was an enthusiastic fan of fantasy and devoured them at incredibly fast rates. He regretted that there was nothing he could do to heal her scientifically, and there were strict rules in place about the use of magic, especially in a medical setting. It was inane, really; had he been free to use his healing abilities when she had first come to him, then she wouldn’t be dying in front of him now.

He had picked Karl up from the university as soon as he was off, having to park and go into the building and all but drag the professor out. Karl loved teaching, and it wasn’t uncommon for him to lose track of time while at work. Typically they drove separately in the mornings, but today Anders had insisted they carpool.

He pulled up to a red stoplight, impatiently tapping his finger on the wheel as he glanced at his watch. Tonight was an important night; they were headed to the best restaurant in Denerim, The Golem’s Nest, where he was planning to go down on one knee and propose to his boyfriend of five years. He was thankful every day for the time that his friends had dared him to look up and perform a soulmate spell, allowing him to glimpse the man he was meant to be with. It had been pure luck that he had been in the same town, and Anders had wasted no time wooing him when he finally met him at, of all places, the grocery store.

Karl had been amused. Anders had been lucky.

The light turned green and he moved forward, hoping that they wouldn’t hit any more stops. If things went right from here on out, then they _should_ make it in time.

But when do things go right?

There was a loud squeal of tires, causing Anders to look to his right just in time to see a large truck careening toward them. Had it been dry out, perhaps they could have managed to get out of the way, but as he hit the gas, his wheels caught a particularly deep patch of water and he hydroplaned in the direction he least wanted to go: toward the truck. The sound of crunching metal filled the small car along with a loud _boom_ , and Anders felt his head snap to the side from the impact. Both airbags blew, shoving Anders’ face back, head slamming against the headrest as they spun out of control across the wet road, sliding down into the ditch at a speed far too great. Tires caught the ground at the wrong moment, flipping the car over to land at the base of the ditch on its roof.

Anders groaned, opening his eyes wide a moment to try to adjust to the sudden change, his head and neck throbbing. Clicking off his seatbelt, he flopped down onto the roof, gingerly rubbing his neck as he pushed open his remarkably unscathed door. He stood up, taking note of the different points of pain in his body, assessing and determining that he mostly likely had bruised ribs and whiplash, but otherwise was fine.

“Karl?” he called, limping to the other side of the car. “Love? Do you need help?”

He froze when he stood in front of the passenger side door, horror spreading throughout him at the speed of a wildfire. “Fuck, no! Maker! Karl!” he screamed as he dove to the crushed door, fingers scratching over the metal dented beyond recognition. In desperation, he ran back around to his side, crawling back in and over to the body hanging limply from the seat.

Blood. There was so much blood. Blood everywhere. “KARL!” Sirens were approaching, but it was all background noise to him as he tried to rouse the man beside him. The doctor inside of him was trying to break through, to tell him that Karl was dead; there were no signs of life, his neck was broken and there was too much blood. But the boyfriend part of him, the part of him that had to face his love lying broken in front of him would not accept it.

A pair of arms grasped him and tried to pull him out, and he let loose a growl, yelling at them to leave him alone.  His distraught mind told him there was only one thing to do in this situation: use magic to heal Karl.

A soft blue glow filled the wrecked car as he called forth the healing magic he channeled through spirits, and he directed it toward Karl. His hands shook as he moved his hands over the parts of the body that he could reach, tears dripping down his face as he bit down on his lip hard enough to draw blood. The shouts outside of the car were becoming more panicked, but he ignored them even as he continued to try to revive the man in front of him.

It was like a bucket of ice water was dumped on him when his spell was disrupted, and anger flooded through him. He started again, only to have it dispelled once more. Crawling back out, he stood up to face the officer in front of him, her hand still out from casting the disrupt. “Why did you do that?” Anders snarled, shoving the woman back in anger. The officer’s wrinkled face hardened, pushing Anders’ arms off of her shoulders.

“Unsanctioned use of magic is forbidden; you know that,” she responded, sneering at Anders.

“I’m a _doctor,_ ” Anders growled, gesturing toward the car Karl was still in. “I could _save_ him, but only with magic.”

The officer glanced over his shoulder at the car, shaking her head. “No. The paramedics have already declared him dead. As a _doctor_ ,” she said the word with disdain, narrowing her eyes at Anders as she continued, “you should already know that.”

Throwing his hands up in the air in frustration, Anders turned and stalked away, fists clenched in anger. He stood off to the side, watching as the door was pried off to pull out the body of his deceased lover, trying to not break down. He glared as the officer approached him once more, even as the woman lifted her hands in peace.

“Are you going to arrest me, then?” he asked, voice low and dangerous.

The officer shook her head, lowering her hands back to her side. “No, I will let it go this time. I just thought you might like to know, the man who hit your car… well, doctor, he was drunk.”

Anders’ brows shot up, and he felt his anger growing out of control. “Where is he?” he queried, managing to keep his voice even by some small miracle. The office pointed to one of the squad cars, rambling off something about taking him in, but Anders tuned out as soon as he got the information he desired. He made his way to the car, blasting back the officer when she tried to stop him.

Ripping open the door to the backseat, he stared down at the man sitting there; black hair, pale, waxy skin. Empty brown eyes looked back at him. “Aaaaye, sorry ‘bout ‘ittin yer car,” he slurred, speech marred nearly beyond recognition.

Anders saw a few more officers approaching and he cast them to the ground as well before reaching down into the car to drag out the drunken piece of crap before him. He shut the door and then slammed the man against the car, using a forearm to hold him there as he called fire into his other palm. “You killed the man I was going to ask to marry me tonight,” he said, and he did not recognize the sound of his own hate-filled voice.

The man _laughed_ , and the flame in Anders’ palm grew larger. “’m glad he’s dead if yer gay freaks.”

Oh, that was _it._ Anders snarled, slamming his flaming hand forward to crash it into the man’s smug face. Suddenly a Silence roared through him, extinguishing the flame just before it touched skin. There was a sickening crunch as his fist connected with – and broke – the man’s nose, and Anders pulled back, releasing him to let him crumple against the car, hands cradling his nose as blood gushed down his face. Whipping back around, Anders saw the original officer was aiming a gun at him, having also presumably Silenced him.

“I’m afraid we’re going to have to take your license, doctor,” she said, approaching him slowly. “Come in peace, please; I don’t want to have to Smite you, too.”

“Just my license?” he asked, glancing around as discreetly as possible to take in his surroundings. On the other side of the road was a small copse of trees; if needed, he could try to get to it and use it to help disappear.

She shook her head, taking another step forward. “You’ll have to go to Aeonar; you know that.”

Anders glared at her, weighing options in his head. The other officers were starting to stir, and it was only a matter of time before he was overwhelmed.

No.

In a movement as quick as the lightening that flashed through the sky that morning, Anders grabbed the man behind him and sent him careening toward the officer, taking advantage of her being off-kilter momentarily to dodge around the cars. Shots rang in the night, and he cried as a bullet ripped into his left arm, tearing the skin right above the elbow. Adrenaline coursing through his veins, he picked up the speed, running across the road, ignoring the honking and screeching tires of the cars trying to avoid him.

They would not have him.

Even if it killed him, he would never let them take him to Aeonar.

**Author's Note:**

> Well. There were a few who expressed interest in what happened to Anders. So... here ya go.
> 
> Apologies if there's anything off about the car accident. I did talk it over with the SO and he seemed to think I did a decent job with making it realistic.
> 
> ~*~  
> Did you like it? Did you love it? Did you... *gasp* hate it? Let me know! I'm always open for reviews, comments and helpful criticism.  
> I'm here to grow. :)
> 
> You can also find me on Tumblr as StarlingHawke


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